A Bond That Can't Be Severed
by glo1196
Summary: My entry into the "2014 Ficathon Entry." A 6X23 continuation. Lots of angst, a case, and what we all wanted in the last episode. Because we all know that there were too many things that didn't mesh in that finale, we'll address them here!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my 2014 Ficathon Entry. It is going to be a pretty long, angsty story, but definitely Caskett. I refuse for anything but a happily ever after, though it won't be quick. Oh, and there won't be any amnesia or dreams involved! I hope you guys enjoy, stick around and get a chance to review!**

_"That's what the great love stories are all about, right, beating the odds?"_

_"Well maybe it is a sign. A sign that ours is a great love story. Cuz what's a great love story without obstacles to overcome. Every fairy tale has them. Terrible trials that only the worthy can transcend. But you can't give up. That's the deal. We want the happy ending... we can't give up."_

Kate dropped the phone as she raced out of the room, oblivious to the stunned presence of Alexis, Lanie, and Martha. She's numb. Her heart shattered into an insurmountable number of jagged pieces that pierce every inch of her body and soul. Her only thought was that she needed to get to him, she needed to be close to him. Her mind flooded with images of him, of his words, of her everything.

The Rolls approached the emergency vehicles blocking the road. She realized she didn't even remember giving the driver directions.

Back in the room Lanie had picked up the phone and listened in absolute terror to the details that had sent her friend running. Tears streaked down her face as she closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer for friends. Rocked with emotion, she clutched the armoire beside her for support before she turned to speak to his family.

"Lanie, what's wrong?" It's Alexis who asks.

"Your Dad's been in an accident, just a few minutes from here. An anonymous driver called it in. The police and fire department are already there, they've identified your father's car from its license plate. It's on fire, if he didn't get out there is no way he could have survived. They are searching the area as we speak. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Martha sat on the bed in stunned silence, tears streaked down her face. This was every mother's worse nightmare. She watched her granddaughter pace angrily across the room.

"It doesn't mean he's dead. This is my Dad we're talking about. He isn't dead." Alexis walked over to her grandmother. "Grams, he can't be dead. Not Dad, Grams." The Broadway Diva looked into her grand-daughters eyes and Alexis burst into tears, as her grandmother drew her close.

Lanie, pulled herself together, wiped her eyes and decided to take charge and make some important decisions. "I'm going to find the boys and Gates. We need to get to the scene; we can help. Kate's there by herself. She'll need us. I'm going to find Maddy and Jenny so they can tell the guests what's happened." Martha looked up and nodded her approval. Lanie ran out of the room. She tried to compose herself as she approached the beautiful wedding reception area that was to be the beginning of her best friends "happily ever after."

Ryan and Esposito were both seating guests, when Lanie spotted them. Esposito nudged Ryan as he saw Lanie approaching, she was obviously distraught.**  
**

"Lanie, what's wrong? Where is everyone?" Ryan asked as he impatiently looked over her shoulder for the rest of the wedding party.

"Castle's been in a terrible accident. We don't know..." She breaks down into tears again. "His car is burning. We don't know if he made it, Javi. Castle might be dead." She managed before the tears resumed and Espo wrapped his arms around her.

Lanie shuddered but, with a surprisingly strong voice, managed to say, "We need to get these people out of here. We need to get Jim, and Gates up into the room. Kate's gone, she took the Rolls to the accident scene alone. We need to get there. Someone get Maddy and Jenny to get the information out to the guests while we go help Kate. Tell them to call Gina at Black Pawn too. Discretion is of utmost importance here."

The Rolls skidded to a sudden stop in front of the multitude of emergency vehicles. Kate could smell the burning wreckage before she actually saw it. Throwing open the door, she's stunned by the intense heat that kept her rooted to her spot. After a stuttered breath she gathered up her dress and ran towards the smoke and debris.

Her mother's beautiful dress, it had finally felt like a good omen that it had fit so perfectly.

She froze as she rounded a police car and fixated on the car in flames at the bottom of the embankment. Her mind registered the raging inferno and everything stopped: her breath, her heart, she couldn't move. The smoke and heat stung her eyes. Flames had totally engulfed the Mercedes, immediately she recognized his Firefly decal on the back bumper. She turned quickly and stared into the back of the empty ambulance.

"No." The word escaped her lips on a breath as she took a good look at the wreckage again. She took a few tentative steps towards the car, and an officer grabbed her arm.

"Ma'am you can't go over there!" She shrugged his arm off, this time she tried to run forward. "Ma'am it's a potential crime scene you can't go over there, it's dangerous."

"Ms. Beckett." The use of her name startled her for a moment and she looked up into Chief Brady's sympathetic eyes. "We need to let the fire burn itself out. There's nothing we can do. Go back to the house, and we'll call you as soon as everything is under control here, and we have some information for you."

"You know I can't do that. I need to know if he's in there Chief Brady. This is our wedding day, I'm supposed to be married to him. I need to know." The Chief maneuvered to place himself between Kate and the car. His two officers blocked her escape routes On either side. She repeatedly pushed against the chief pleading, "Please, I just need to know. I need to know. Please."

Behind her she heard the opening and closing of doors and approaching footsteps.

"Katie," her father's called out to her and in that moment she's totally was consumed by every emotion that had been threatening to overtake her. Her body shook with uncontrolled fear. She took another run at the car. This time Esposito' arms wrapped around her, and pulled her back. "I won't let you do that, Kate. Kick and scream all you want. I won't let you go."

For an instant her mind traveled to the time Castle had said those exact words as he carried her out of the airport hangar. That time she had left behind her Captain, this time she would be leaving Castle behind. _No!_

"Please Espo? I can't leave him." The pain in her voice tore through them. She struggled in vain against Espo's stronger grip.

Her father joined the effort to hold her back when he begs, "Katie, please?"

"No, no please no! It can't happen again, Daddy. I need him! Please let me go! I don't want to be without him!" In that moment she's the 19 year old daughter, who tried so hard bury all the pain and grief of her mother's murder. Desolation flowed over her when she realized there was no place deep enough for her to bury the amount of pain and devastation coursing through her. It swallows her whole.

It's her fathers arms that kept her from falling. Personally knowing the excruciating pain she's endured, he rocked her in an attempt to soothe her like he did when she was young. "Dad I love him! I never told him enough. I deserve to be there not him! Oh God, please! Why did I ever think I deserved him?"

Behind them the rest of their non-traditional family stood watching one of the strongest people, they would ever know, fall apart. Lanie turned into Esposito's arms and sobEd openly. There wasn't a dry eye among them as their hearts broke for the couple.

Alexis ran from her grandmother's arms and carefully approached Kate and Jim. She tentatively wrapped her arms around Kate's waist.

Kate looked down, mascara running down her face, blotchy eyes, tears streaked across her cheeks and draws the young woman to her.

"I'm sorry Alexis, I'm so sorry. It should have been me. I'm so sorry!" Her words are mumbled now. All strength and confidence having completely abandoned her.

"Don't say that Kate. This isn't your fault. Please, don't give up hope." She begged her. "Dad wouldn't want you to. I need you to be positive, for me," She placed her head on Alexis' and drew the girl closer.

"I love you father, Alexis. I've never loved anyone like I love him."

Kate refused to leave until the fire had been extinguished. They stayed with her wanting to see for themselves if there had been a body in the drivers seat. Gates, Ryan and Espo followed CSU down to the car and looked inside. They apparently saw evidence of human remains in the front seat. Their bodies cringe back from the car, then Ryan turned toward her, the tears in his eyes washed away her last hope. That's when the threatening blackness creeped over her heart and soul and swallowed her whole.

Thankfully her father caught her before she hit the ground. Espo carried her to the car. On the way back to the house Martha and Alexis sat on either side of her In the Rolls. Kate's head cradled gently against Martha's shoulder and her hand tightly clenched in Alexis'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one as well. I wanted to show the strong bond this makeshift family has forged. How Well they know each other, that they know exactly what to do to help. I hope I don't disappoint. We will learn more about Castle, in the coming chapters. So please don't worry. I hope you're all along for the ride! Thank you for reading! Is it September yet? My 2014 Ficathon Entry! Thanks dtrekker for the awesome cover art!**

_Even on __the worst days there is a possibility for joy._

_ ~ Katherine Beckett_

She stood immobile and watched as the setting sun greeted the darkened ocean from the window. Everything was a haze, a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She didn't remember the ride back to the house, or how she had gotten to their bedroom. Unwanted images of his car burning in the ditch, flashed relentlessly through her thoughts.

Outside, the wedding venue had been torn down, piles of tables and chairs littered the manicured yard, and the caterers waited patiently for the trucks to haul it all away. Soon there would be no trace of what would have been their wedding.

The sudden silence in the room washed over her and reminded her that it had always been quiet on this side of her wall. Outside the darkness of the night-time ocean mirrored the darkness that ebbed it's way through her heart. The tears had dried, but they would undoubtedly re-surface when she was left alone, in his bed, with his scent and her memories.

Martha and Lanie talked, but she couldn't make herself listen. It was the kind of talk done when silence would have been far worse, but she remained lost in her own thoughts.

"Katherine, Dear," Martha said as she approached her, and gently laid a hand on her arm. "Maybe, we should help you get out of that dress?"

"Come on Kate, let's get you into something more comfortable." Lanie suggested. She realized she had no idea how long she had been standing in that room, and she needed to get out of the dress.

She glanced down at her mother's beautiful dress, it had fit like a glove when her original dress was ruined. It had felt like a positive omen at the time. Like her mother had looked down on her and sent her blessing. Now it was soot stained, torn at the hem, and ruined by the horrific memories of the day.

She didn't move as Martha's fingers nimbly released each of the tiny pearl buttons down the back of the dress. Lanie plucked the hairpins out of her hair with care, when she was done she handed Kate a brush. She hung up the dress in the closet and brought her over some comfortable clothes she had found in a drawer. Then she excused herself and went to check on Alexis and the rest of the wedding party.

The silence in the room was deafening. There just weren't any words left in her. It wasn't until Kate heard a stuttered sob and turned to look into the older woman's tear rimmed eyes, that the torrent of emotions she had held at bay all afternoon ravaged through her.

"I'm sorry, Martha. You've been so good to me." Kate wrapped her arms around her would be mother in law. "You're hurting too, and here you are worrying about me."

Martha led Kate to the bed and sat on the edge. She took Kate's hands in hers. "Castle women are strong, Kate. When faced with adversity we stand strong. We do what has to be done. Richard was married twice before he found you, and those earrings sat in a box each time. He never knew what love was until you. He picked you, and you'll always be family, with or without a wedding. It's what he wanted, more than anything. It's what I want."

The tears streamed down both women's faces as they held each other. "Martha, it doesn't feel real to me. I feel like I'm in a dream, and any moment he's going to walk through that door. This is something you would see in a bad episode of One Life To Live. I need him Martha. I don't know how to exists without him anymore. How will our lives continue?"

"None of us do, Katherine." Martha said through trembling lips. The women wrapped their arms around each other, both lost in their own thoughts and memories.

As they parted, Kate reached up to remove the stunning sapphire earrings, but Martha stilled her hands. "Keep them for now, Kate. They'll remind us of the strength we all have within us, and help us get through this."

Downstairs, Gates and the boys had been on the phone all afternoon trying to get as much information as possible. The remains found at the accident were being sent to the local ME who, out of professional curtesy, had agreed to let Lanie assist in the autopsy the next morning. Espo, Ryan and Gates offered the Hampton PD their assistance, and the help was gratefully accepted. The next morning they would all go out to the scene, then to the police dept. to see the any evidence that would have been collected. Lanie would head to the Coroner's office first thing in the morning.

Jim Beckett and Jenny had thrown together a simple pasta meal for everyone, because the wedding party hadn't eaten all day. Jim marveled at the small but strong family his daughter had become part of, as he prepared the meal. The commitment, loyalty and love of this hodgepodge group to his daughter and each other was incredible.

Kate and Martha walked down the stairs hand in hand, as the crew of the 12th watched them. Both woman had changed, washed their faces and slipped on comfortable shoes. It was rare to see either of them so exposed. Everyone crowded around them eager to share what they had accomplished. After they thanked everyone for their help, Martha escorted everyone to their rooms for the night. Before she went upstairs she gave Kate a hug and kissed her cheek before whispering, "This is your family, Katherine."

Jim Beckett hung back as the group disappeared up the stairs. He had watched his daughter carefully, and saw as she began to build back the walls that Rick had carefully broken down over the last five years.

He walked over to her, and drew her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Katie. If there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask. Please, don't let this do to you what it did to me. I hurt you, when you needed me most, because I was too selfish in my hurt to share it with anyone, even you. Don't let it destroy everything he worked so hard for you to have."

"Dad, I keep waiting for him to walk through those doors. Hoping this is all just a bad dream. He can't be gone, after everything we have gone through. We were finally here. He made me believe in fairytales, Dad. Look what good that did me!" Her tears came fast. "I love him. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone. He's everything. He didn't stop until he had broken down my walls. He saw me! I was happy."

Her sobs wracked through her body, all the hurt and pain steamrolled through her with unbridled intensity. She wanted to hurt something, wanted to kick, and scream at the unfairness of it all. Instead she emotionally fell apart in her father's arms.

"I knew a few months into him following you, that he was something special. Your stories became less critical, they made you laugh. I heard more about Castle then I did your boyfriends. You fought him for so long, Katie, but he loved you, and he never gave up. He brought out the best in you." Her father wiped away the tears still running down her face.

"I love him. I'll always love him."

"There is someone else who lost her world today. She needs you as much as you needed me. Don't let her down, Kate. She has you and Martha, and she will need you both. Alexis has been outside on that deck since we got here. I brought her food and made her eat. She didn't want to talk, but I'm not you. Don't let her stay out there alone." He hugged his daughter tightly one more time before he kissed her and started towords the stairs.

"I'm upstairs if you need me. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, Kate. This time I won't disappoint you." He walked up the stairs slowly. Kate saw the sadness in his eyes. So many years and the pain from losing her mother was never very far.

Alexis sat on the deck, her feet dangled over the side as she watched the waves crash against the shore. She had come out here the minute they came through the door. It was one of her dad's favorite places at the house. She sat and had begged, pleaded and bargained with any higher power who'd listen. Had prayed that this was all a nightmare. It just couldn't end like this, her father was finally happy. Alexis heard the slider open behind her.

"Is there room for one more?" Kate asked the young woman. She wanted to let Alexis know she was there for her. She didn't want her to think that her feelings in this weren't important. She painfully remembered how it felt to be in Alexis' shoes.

Alexis turns towards Kate, her eyes are filled with unshed tears, her lips trembled as she tried to voice her innermost fear. "Kate, is he really dead?"

Kate couldn't answer her. The question knocked the breath out of her, and she's stunned into silence. Her eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around Alexis and rested her cheek on her head.

Kate wanted to tell her that he was alive. That there was hope and possibility, but she saw the scene and the Mercedes with her own eyes. There was no reason to think it wasn't Castle in the drivers seat, but she couldn't find it within herself to tell the girl he was dead. Alexis knew the answer to that as well as she did.

"Come inside, it's getting cold out here, and you need to change and get some rest." Kate offered Alexis her hand and headed in with her for the night. "Your Dad's so proud of you and everything you've become. You are the best thing that ever happened to him. You're the reason I let him in. He was real with you, not a spoiled, playboy, writer. He's a wonderful father to you, and it shows in the person you have become."

"Kate, you sound like you believe he is still alive."

" I'm not ready to let him go, Alexis. I can't see how he could have survived that crash. We saw the body, but I won't say those words until the all the proof is in front of me. Let me help you. I'm here for you, and if you don't want to be alone tonight. You can stay with me."

"I don't think I'm ready to go in there yet. That room is all, Dad. I'm going to go upstairs to my room." Alexis hugged Kate tightly. "Kate, you made Dad happy. He became a better Dad and a better person after he met you." Then she went upstairs.

Kate stood alone at the doorway to what was supposed to be their room. She walked across to his side of the bed, turned down the covers and crawled in. She wanted to surround herself with him tonight.

"Don't leave me Castle." She whispered into the dark room before she closed her eyes.

Kate tossed and turned all night. Nightmares plagued her, and the smell of him on his sheets teased her senses. Each time she woke she expected him to be lying beside her, watching her, and the tears would start again. It felt like she had just fallen asleep when her phone woke her up.

The picture of Lanie flashed across her screen. She swiped her finger across the screen and answered it. "Hi Lanie."

"He's alive Kate! Castle's alive! It wasn't him in the car. We matched the dental records, and the man in the car is also about 3 inches shorter than Castle. DNA isn't in yet, but Kate it's not Castle!"

**Don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this fic has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and Pintrest glo11962 I have a Castle board!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story! I'm just completely blown away by your kind words. Thank you! I hope I can continue to draw you guys into this story. We'll find out more about who took Castle and why in the coming chapters. This is the first story I've ever written with a timeline and a** sort **of storyboard. I have a few wonderful people showing me the ropes. I hope I don't disappoint them. Castle is not in a good place this chapter, and that might not be changing for a while, but you know he's stronger than he looks, and way smarter than any of the bad guys. My 2014 Castle Ficathon Entry.**

_We all try. And try as we might to control things, sometimes bad things get in and it's not our fault._

_Richard Castle ~ Heat Wave_

Chapter 3

Pain, there was so much of it, it thumped red and angry, so he clawed desperately at the flimsy remnants of his unconsciousness to escape it. It was the sudden thought of Kate that catapulted him into reality.

"Kate," the word stumbled from his parched lips. "Kate!" An image of her as she waited for him, in a wedding dress, flashed through his mind. He tried to force his eyes open, but they were swollen shut. The inflamed flesh letting in just a sliver of sight through his right eye.

He struggled, only to have the familiar feel of stiff, plastic ties dig painfully into his sore wrists. His legs were similarly bound to the chair. A frayed rope fastened tightly across his exposed chest dug into tender bruised flesh. Every inch of his body screamed in agony. But it was the pain in his head that was debilitating.

The unexplained heaviness as he tried to lift his head from his chest worried him. Fiercely intense pain radiated from his nose and cheekbones to the back of his head. He was convinced that there were numerous broken bones in his face. A cough dislodged some of the dried blood that had formed along his tongue and the inside of his mouth, at least that explained the coppery taste that lingered there. He tried to spit it out, but it was useless. He simply didn't have the strength.

The cold dampness that seeped into his bones and the dank, musty smell, lead him to think he was in a basement. What little vision he had in his right eye had adjusted to the darkness of the room. With great effort he moved his head slightly in the direction of the light. The world seemed to move with him, as everything shifted, and bile burned high in his throat. There was a small window high on the wall, with so much grime that it obscured most of the light from outside. No amount of research he had ever previously done for his books prepared him for this.

Castle tried to think of the last thing he remembered. He had called Kate and told her that he was in possession of the papers and was twenty minutes away. They had exchanged "I love you's." Then he looked in his rear view mirror and spotted a black SUV that had raced up behind him, and tried to pass him. That was when the SUV side swiped him and the last thing he remembered was losing control of the car. After that, his memories became murky. There had been angry male voices, extreme pain, an explosion, then he woke up here with no concept of how much time had elapsed.

A floorboard creaked angrily above him, followed by heavy footsteps. They were the first sounds he'd heard since regaining consciousness. He tried to distinguish how many people could possibly be upstairs, but he couldn't focus.

The footsteps stopped, and he heard the creaking of a door. Voices suddenly echoed from above, followed by loud foot steps down the stairs behind him. For the first time since he'd woken up in this hell, fear overpowered his pain. He knew that in his current state there would be no escape, so he waited and prayed that Kate and the boys were looking for him.

He was startled by the jarring kick to his chair. It vibrated painfully thought his body. Someone grabbed his face to get his attention. The blood curtling scream that escaped his lips echoed off the cellar walls. His anger flared.

"What do you want from me?" He didn't recognize the face in front of him. He doubted the man thought he could see him.

A water bottle was pressed to his bleeding lips, water spilled down his throat as he greedily gulped mouthfuls. Castle swallowed as much as he could then spit the last bloodied mouthful defiantly at his captor. The man backhanded him, sending Castle's head reeling.

He felt the blood as it poured freely from his mouth and nose then dripped onto his chest. The blinding pain seared through him, and Castle fought to remain alert. Dark shadows crept around the edges of his consciousness. What little sight he had blurred, nausea churned deep in his stomach, and he welcomed the darkness.

"Too bad you missed your high society wedding, pretty boy. That mighty fine piece of ass didn't get the wedding night fucking she deserved. I'll gladly volunteer to get between those long ass legs of hers in your absence."

"You leave her alone!" He growled between clenched teeth. "Don't you touch her!" For a moment the adrenaline dulls his pain.

"If we thought he'd come for her as quickly as he'd come for you, we'd have had fun with her, wouldn't we boys?" He heard several of the men hum their approval.

"I bet she'd love good ol' fashioned gang bang with some real men. I bet those tits of hers would taste mighty fine." Castle struggled against his restraints. "Don't you worry yourself. We won't hurt your lady cop, and you're only good to us alive. If you don't behave though, we can always go to plan B."

"What do you want?" Castle growled as the adrenaline in his body began to falter. "I can get you money. Whatever you want I can get it for you." It hurt to move his jaw, thinking made his head hurt more. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't search for clues to help himself. Then he felt a prick on the back of his neck and something the asshole said fluttered at the edge of his consciousness before he welcomed the darkness, at least there'd be no pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lanie, are you absolutely sure?" Kate asked as tears freely flowed down her face.

"Kate Beckett! Do you think I would do something like that to you? The man in the car was not Richard Castle. That man was at least three inches shorter, and the dental records don't match. There is no ID on him at all." For the first time in the last 24 hours Kate Beckett smiled as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"God, thank you Lanie. I'm going to go tell everyone the good news. Thank you!" It felt like she could finally take a deep breath.

Kate threw on Castle's favorite robe and proceeded to the kitchen where she heard signs of life. She stopped at the top of the stairs for a moment and watched what had become her family. Martha and Jim sat on either side of Alexis, who struggled with her emotions. Espo, Ryan and Jenny attempted to cook breakfast for the group. Captain Gates had told her that she was going early in the morning to the Hampton PD to talk to the Chief.

The feeling of belonging surged through her for the first time since she was nineteen. She watched this crazy makeshift family that she and Castle had brought together. They had been there for each other, making sure that no one was going through this alone. As she started down the stairs, everyone looked up at her. Her tears evident on her face, her arms dwarfed in Castle's large robe. Her family stared at her in confusion.

Aware of her smile, when she reached the bottom of the stairs she called out, "Lanie, just called. The body in the car is not Castle's. The body is too short and the dental records don't match. DNA had not come in yet, but she is positive it's not Castle."

Alexis' body crashed against her with full force. Her arms wrapped around Kate's waist. Sobs racked Alexis as she pressed herself against Kate.

"I promise to do everything I can to find him Alexis. He will come home." Kate told the girl through her own tears, as she rubbed her back. "We'll find him, sweetie."

Kate watched as hugs were shared among the group, while she comforted Alexis. Ryan held up his cell to get her attention, and she motioned him to bring it to her.

"Beckett." She answered.

"Kate, this is Captain Gates. I need you to think back to yesterday. Do you remember what time you got the phone call about the accident?"

Kate thought about it. "Sir, Castle called me at about 3:30 to say he was about 20 minutes away. Right before the phone rang, we were discussing that it had been an hour since he called. So, it was around 4:30."

The silence on the other end of the phone was disturbing. "Sir?"

"Kate, the Hampton PD got a call reporting the accident by a local resident at 4:03. They arrived at the accident at 4:15, questioned the witness and secured the area. At 4:23 the fire dept. arrived. At 4:25 Officer Callahan called in the plates to see who owned the vehicle. The result came back at 4:31 and they called the Sheriff with the information. He got in his car to come talk to your family himself. He never made it there, because he drove by the scene and saw you there. No one from the Hampton PD made that phone call, Detective. Whoever called wanted you to go that accident scene."

There was another moment of silence as both women thought about who would do that. Kate breaks the silence

"Sir, have you talked to the ME or Lanie? She called about 5 minutes ago to tell us that the body in the car wasn't Castle's. The body was too short, and the dental records don't match. There is something else going on here."

"Kate, stay there, I'm on my way." Gates replied, then hung up. Kate tried putting the pieces together, but, none of it made sense.

**A friendly reminder this story will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this fic has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Thank you again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I have read and re-read each comment several times. I promise to get back to thanking you all individually after the next week or so. This is senior week for my twin daughters. They graduate from high school on Sunday. Last weekend was their prom! I can't believe that my youngest are soon going of to college. I'm just not ready to let go yet! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The details and facts were a killer to research, and no one will probably notice...lol Please let me know what you think! I'm going to need it this week, and if there are any moms out their with suggestions on how to get through this week let me know! My entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

_Oh, you're in my veins_

_And I cannot get you out_

_Oh, you're all I taste_

_At night inside of my mouth_

_~Andrew Belle~_

The morning passed quickly with the relief everyone felt over Castle's body not being in the car. Speculations and theories abounded and with no hard facts the theories were discussed into meaninglessness while they waited impatiently for more news.

Gates arrived with Chief Brady as everyone finished with breakfast. Ryan, Espo and Kate walked onto the back patio with Chief Brady and Gates. They gathered around the table as Gates and Brady opened the folder they had brought with them, and laid out multiple crime scene photos. Kate's heart shattered as each picture was pulled out, but the picture with the charred remains of the Mercedes stopped her breath, and she turned her eyes away. Even knowing he had not died in the crash, the picture quickly reminded her that Castle was still not safe.

"These are just some of the preliminary findings we have." Chief Brady started. He moved the photos of skid marks towards the team.

"These marks here," Brady rearranged the pictures then pointed to the closest one, "were made by Castle's Mercedes as he applied the brakes and was forced off the road and into the embankment. These tire marks, were most likely made by the car that ran him off the road." He pointed to the next picture.

Gates continued, "On her way home from shopping a local woman saw a black, four door, SUV speed past her in the opposite direction. She thought she remembered New York plates, but wasn't positive. A mile or so later she came upon the accident and called it into the station right away. The front of Mr. Castle's car was already on fire, when she got there."

The Chief continued, "We found tire tracks in the dirt to the left of the Mercedes, and imprints were made. They are consistent with the Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico All Season tires used on upscale vehicles like Cadillac Escalades, which fits the description given by our witness. We are looking at any traffic cams, and registered vehicles in the area that fit the bill."

"CSU found something interesting. Right outside the drivers side door were two heel imprints, it was just the back of the shoe and the heel imprinted in the dirt. They are consistent with someone being taken out of the car and their feet dropping dead weight into the dirt. There are four inch drag marks after that. Shoe size was approximately a size 11 or larger. If there was more, it got obliterated by the emergency crews at the scene." Gates looked up into the hopeful eyes of Katherine Beckett.

"Detective Beckett, we also ran the telephone number that called you on your cell. As you can expect it was a burner phone, that's no longer in service. Can you remember anything at all distinctive about the voice? An accent, stutter, lisp?" The Captain asked.

"It was a male voice, no accent. It wasn't a young voice. Nothing that would make it stand out. Why would someone call me? Why wasn't the call made to Alexis or Martha?" She looked at Gates.

"Detective, you know the Hampton PD never notified you, and we need to know who did and why?" Chief Brady interjected. "Have you heard anything else from the ME on whose body it might have been in the car?"

"Nothing yet," Espo replied. "Lanie is there, she will definitely call as soon as they have anything new."

"With the information we have, we can conclude that Mr. Castle was run off the road, by a black SUV. Then he was removed from his vehicle and his body replaced with someone else's. We still do not know if the car caught fire on it's own, or if it was intentionally set. We don't know," Gates continued, "who has Mr. Castle and why, or if he is ok."

Just then Chief Brady's phone rang. He walked away from the table as he spoke. After a few minutes he returned to the table and gathered the evidence photos. "I need to get back to the station. Something has come up that I need to take care of. Do you want me to send you copies of these detective?" He motions to the photos he shoved unceremoniously into the folder.

Kate nodded and offered a small smile. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that." Already the thought of her own board was forming in her head.

"If I have anything new for you, I'll call you as soon as I can." Brady acknowledged as he started towards the front door.

Kate stood and walked him to the door, Martha saw them and met them at the door. "Thank you for all your help Chief Brady." Martha said as she shook his hand. "We appreciate it."

He smiled and then turned towards Kate. "I'll let you know what we know as soon as I can. If you remember anything or have any questions don't hesitate to call. With everyone's help we will find him, Detective." She gave him a small smile as he walked away towards his squad car.

After everyone had gone back into the house, Kate and Gates sat outside by themselves for a bit.

"Sir, it seems like this is all a bad dream. Or some kind of vaudeville slapstick movie where everything goes wrong. How can so many things go wrong, in one wedding?"

Gates looks at her. "I know that your venue had to be changed at the last minute, and you found out that you had been married for the last 12 years, but what else?"

"It started with Castle's book tour getting cut short; he came home early. Which thank goodness it happened, because then we found out I was married. After that the original venue caught fire, my designer wedding dress was ruined when a pipe burst in the apartment above mine. Rogan wouldn't sign the papers."

"Kate has anyone looked into any of these unusual occurrences? Maybe we should get the boys to go back into the city and just look into all these strange incidences right before your big day. Maybe they aren't all coincidences? Who cancelled Castle's tour? Isn't that unheard of with his ex-wife? Burst pipes tend to happen in the dead of winter, and how did the FBI miss that you were married during your security checks? Did I hear the boys say that Rogan had quite an extensive rap sheet? Your security clearance was approved very quickly with all these inconsistencies. Something just doesn't add up? We should also look into people who would have a grudge against Castle, 3XK and Bracken both come to mind." Gates said as they both stood and walked toward the house to inform the boys of their new assignments.

"Kate, I'm not going to tell you that you can't work this case, because I'm not going to force you to lie to me. Just remember that you can't help him from behind bars, or from a hospital bed. You are my best detective and you need to keep your head on straight. I'll approve whatever time you need, and you have our services at your disposal. I have to return to the 12th tonight. We will keep working on our end. Please keep me updated. We will get him home." Kate wrapped her arms around her captain and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Sir." She said as the woman walked through the front door to her car. For a moment she remembered the hard ass Captain that she instantly hated on her first day back from her leave of absence. They had all definitely come a long way since then.

Later that night as moon reflected on the calm ocean, Kate sat on the balcony outside their bedroom. Wrapped warmly in Castle's favorite plush robe, she prayed he was under the same stars, safe and sound. When it got too cold and windy to stay outside any longer, she turned, entered the bedroom and closed the French doors behind her. She stood staring into the room as memories of time shared in this room bombarded her.

As she finally climbed into the middle of the bed, she ran her hand over his side of the bed and pulled his pillow up against her. His scent enveloped her And a sob caught in her throat. Alone in the room she could finally let her guard down. She could be the scared fiancé not the tough detective. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she whispered his name into the silent night, and succumbed to sleep.

In the middle of the night she startled from a dream where she had never met Castle. Her heart had pounded fiercely in her chest, at the thought. Never had she thought she would ever feel this way about another human being. He made her better, stronger. He challenged her and made her see everything she was missing. He made her believe in magic and love stories. There was no way anyone was going to take him away from her. She had lost her mother, but she'd be damned if she was going to lose him. She got up and walked into his study. There she pulled out his white board, and in no time had established a time line. She had once told Trapper John at the bank heist that, "She didn't look, she hunted," and that's exactly what she was going to do now.

When Martha finally found her the next morning, she was asleep at his desk. In her hand was a small picture of the two of them taken at his surprise birthday party. Behind her stood a white board with a detailed time line and his picture.

**Don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited and followed. It is greatly appreciated. A gentle reminder, fanfic writers known or obscure like me, only know people are reading and enjoying when you review and let us know. It is also a way of letting others know that the story is worth reading. Good stories sometimes fall by the wayside because of low reviews and we all miss out. So please, take the time to show your support. I hope you enjoy this chapter, read the end notes if you want to see where Castle is being held. Thank you to all who help me with this story! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Ficathon.**

_I need you to know that our partnership, our relationship is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You're an amazing man, and I love you with all of my heart. Always._

**Chapter 5**

The first thought that had filtered through the murky fog filling his head, was he had been drugged. A steady drumming beat pulsed painfully through his head, but it wasn't nearly as severe as the last time he'd woken. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious, time had started to blur, and he no longer new how much time had lapsed since he was driven off the road.

In an attempt to answer his own question he forced himself to move and discovered there was unexpected freedom to his movements. When he took the chance and opened his eyes he noticed that his arms and legs were shackled, but he was no longer restrained to a chair. He could move around the room. The relief at his newfound freedom quickly turned to fear when his muddled brain realized his captors believed that there was no fear of him escaping.

The swelling around both eyes had subsided enough for him to take in his surroundings. He had definitely been moved. From where he laid, he spotted the remnants of a bathroom in the other room. He'd been placed on an old dirty, spring coil, twin mattress, that was too small for his frame. The tiny room was musty and the stench of decay and mold was nauseating. The upper half of the walls were a dingy white color, the bottom half an institutional split pea green. The paint was either chipped or water damaged and moldy. The cracked gray tiles on the floor were reminiscent of old schools or hospitals. He struggled against the movement induced vertigo and managed to sit up and put his feet on the floor without puking. His knees burned in protest as the room spun around him. His gut wrenched and a burning bile rose into his mouth from the pain that consumed him. With considerable difficulty he forced himself to stand and stumbled to the nearest window.

When his equilibrium recovered enough to comprehend what he saw, Castle felt reality crumble around him. Before him laid the abandoned grounds of some type of institution. Trees and bushes were either wildly overgrown or eerily dead and decaying. The road leading to the building was cracked and littered with potholes and debris. To the left, a smaller brick building sported graffiti across the front entrance and the shattered windows on every floor revealed no life or light. Dead ivy clawed against the crumbling brick exterior. The silence was deafening, and his mind couldn't let go of the fact that this was the kind of place bad things happened in his books.

The room spun around him when he turned away from the window towards the only other exit in the room. He used the wall for support and dragged himself along it to the door. A desperate exploratory shove and kick proved that it was thick and obviously solid. The doorknob didn't turn when he tried it. The keyhole was for an old fashion skeleton type key. Maybe when his head felt better he could put some of his research to work, but that thought quickly dissipated when he felt his stomach lurch violently as the tendrils of fear stirred the bile that rose to his throat.

His legs gave out from under him as he sunk to the floor. He felt weak and nauseous, the pain in his chest and head increased as he became more conscious of his situation And the drug wore off.

His mind suddenly focused on the muffled sound of voices coming through the door. He could hear at least two, maybe mire men talking. He concentrated on their voices and was able to extract snippets of the conversation.

From what he gathered these men had purchased an old cargo plane in Canada. They had planned to load it with ammonium nitrate fertilizer collected over a period of time, mix it with Diesel fuel and then explode it just before it hit the track in front of the main straight grandstand during the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day. The death toll would be in the tens of thousands with thousands more injured. Something had gone terribly wrong a month before the race, and the plane had blown up killing many of their people. They suspected sabotage and had figured out who was responsible.

Castle closed his eyes, his head pounded with blinding pain, his chest ached. The thumping in his head increased and he clutched the wall behind him as the room spun. He couldn't understand what all this had to do with him. Why was he being held? They couldn't think he had anything to do with it. Something at the back of his thoughts was nagging him, but he couldn't grasp it with the pain he was in.

Darkness crept into the edges of his consciousness, he knew she'd be waiting there for him, so he closed his eyes and welcomed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The precinct was always a busy place, but today it had been busier than usual. Officers and detectives not scheduled to work had volunteered in an effort to locate, Castle. Some detectives drove to the Hampton's to offer assistance. Others poured over traffic cams within a 10 miles of the accident. Everyone helped anyway they could.

Ryan had been at his desk, he'd just pulled Kate and Castle's marriage license application from the City Clerk's Office when something immediately caught his eye.

"Hey Javi, come take a look at this." Espo walked to Ryan's desk and looked over his partners shoulder.

"Ok, that's Beckett and Castles marriage license application, from the Clerk's Office. So?" He looked at Ryan not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Man, come on, look at the date; it says they got married March 18, 1997. Beckett was only 17 and a junior in high school when she was supposedly getting married. A minor under the age of 18 needs parental consent to get married in Nevada. I called, "Drive Through of Love" in Vegas and there was no record of a Rogan O'Leary and Katherine Houghton Beckett ever getting married there. I think that record is a fake. That resembled the kind of file they made for people in Witness Protection."

"You're right Bro, something's not right. How can that be?" Espo nods towards Gates office. "I think we should tell her. Maybe she can get to the bottom of this."

The boys stood and walked over to Gates' office, they knocked and were invited to enter. The door closed firmly behind them, as they shared what they had discovered. It wasn't long before Gates reached for her phone. She thanked them and dismissed them as she waited for the phone to be answered.

"Special Agent Jordan Shaw, please?" Gates asks.

"This is she."

"Agent Shaw, this is Captain Victoria Gates of the 12th precinct in New York City. My team here, talks very highly of you, and Captain Montgomery's notes on the Dunn case were impressive. I read about the Re-capitator case you were involved in, in Phoenix. I'm calling because we have a case you may be interested in helping us with."

"I'm listening."

"On the way to his wedding the groom was run off the road into an embankment and his car caught fire. His fiancé was called and told of the accident, but not by the police. It has been determined that the burned body is not that of the groom. It appears that the groom was kidnapped. We have evidence of conspiracy, their wedding was sabotaged from the get go."

"Kidnapping is always the jurisdiction of the FBI. You have a local office and didn't call them so there is more. What aren't you telling me?" Jordan asked.

"The grooms name is Richard Edgar Castle, the brides name is Katherine Houghton Beckett."

"You should have told me that up front. How is Kate holding up? She has had so much hardship in her life. We stayed in touch for a while after the Dunn case, but life got in the way. I'm beyond thrilled that those two finally got it together. I'm not currently on a case. I'll run this by my supervisor and call you back. No matter what, I'll help in any way I can." Jordan answered as she started looking up flights to New York on her computer.

"Well, let me know, and thank you Agent Shaw for whatever help you can offer." Gates hung up her office phone and stared out into the bustling bullpen at her staff. She prayed that this would end well.

Just as she is was about to return to the Bullpen, Gates' phone rang again. Interestingly enough it was Lanie Parrish. It's not often that the ME's office called her.

"Captain Gate's" she answered.

"Captain Gates, this is Lanie Parrish from the ME's office. We are at the Hampton ME's office and just got the DNA results from the body in Castle's Mercedes. The body in the car was that of Rogan O'Leary, Kate's ex-husband. We also found accelerant on the driver's side seat and on a few unburned fragments of his clothes."

Then there was silence as Lanie's words sank in.

**The place where Castle is being held does exist. It's called the King's Park Psychiatric Center located in King's Park, NY. It is just about one hour from the Hampton's and has been abandoned since 1996. If you Google it you will find tons of pictures of the place.**

**My new M rated fic can be found here s/10439180/1/Tick-Tick-and-a-Different-Kind-of-Boom Hope you enjoy it!**

******Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long to go up. my twins graduated high school, we went to their college orientation, and I had a touch of writers block. I admit that this isn't probably the best chapter, but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Those reviews help motivate me, I didn't want to let anyone down. To all who faved or put me on alert Thank You! I promise not to let this much time slip by again without updating. This is still my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. Now, on with the show...**

_Kate laid on her side facing the open French doors. The ocean breeze made the sheer white curtains dance against the fading colors of the world beyond. His warm breath cascaded across her neck and over her shoulder, his fingers feathered across her shoulder, down her side, to the tip of her hip and back. Chills coursed down her spine and she moaned as her head dropped forward. Castle's mouth devoured the silky skin at the sensitive juncture at the back of her neck. His lips and hands had made her come undone so many times, yet it always seemed so new, so delicious._

_"Kate," his voice low and sexy at her ear. "I need you." His hips canted against the curve of her back, and she felt his need hard against the cheeks of her ass. She teased him as she ground herself against him. She was rewarded by a deep feral growl as his large hands kneaded her breasts. Kate's back arched as her body chased his hands. His other hand slithered between her legs and spread her folds. His middle finger dragged her wetness over the swollen nub, and her body instantly surrendered to him. Every inch of her needed him, in a way that she had never experienced before him. One touch and she had been his, and it had always been that way, from day one. There had been no stopping the inevitable collision._

_He possessed her, body and soul without question._

_The ache between her legs consumed her, heat coursed wildly through her veins. "Take me, Castle." She moaned as his fingers continued their assault on her body. "God, I need you."_

_He sheathed himself into her from behind and the angle made her gasp his name, her body trembled. "More." She moaned._

_His body encompassed hers and his rhythm was hard and even against her. He watched the honey licked curls sway across her back as he thrust deeply into her. He watched as tiny beads of sweat formed between her shoulder blades. He loved her wanton and free like this._

_"I love you, Kate. I'm never letting you go. Don't let me go." His voice was low and gravely. "Always, Kate Always." He murmured against her sweat slicked skin_.

His voice faded into the dark recesses of her mind. Her body arched for his touch, desperate and wanting, and in that instant between sleep and wakefulness her heart shattered. The pain so intense she'd gladly welcome Maddox's bullet instead.

She gasped for air between sobs as reality crashed around her. Her face buried in his pillow desperate for a wisp of his fading scent. Tears refused to spill as anger hummed through her veins, and she wanted to scream at every unearthly power for the epic tragedy her life was.

She needed to find him, every fiber of her knew he was alive and whoever had him, whoever did this would pay.

Kate got up and showered. It was late in the morning and Alexis and Martha had a ready left for the city. The women had discussed their plans over dinner. Martha and Alexis could not just sit and wait for news. They had to get back and continue on with their lives. Kate would keep them updated and would follow them back to the loft within a week, if nothing new surfaced at the Hampton's. Castle would have wanted it that way.

Kate stood in front of her murder board. Nothing added up. There were more unanswered questions than facts. They needed a new lead. It was just after noon time when Kate's phone had rung, and the Hampton PD logo flashed across her screen.

"Beckett." She answered with apprehension.

"Detective, this is Chief Brady. We received a call about a black SUV spotted at a vacant home, currently for sale at the outskirts of town. My men and I are about to go, if you'd like to meet us there."

Kate felt the thundering beat of her heart against her ribs as he rattled of the address. She immediately entered it into the GPS on her phone and ran out the door.

She didn't remember the drive out to the address Brady had provided. Her mind raced through all the possibilities. His unseeing eyes flashed before her eyes and her stomach lurched wildly. She shook the morbid image from her head. Upon arrival, she met with Brady and his men. They had observed no movement from inside the house or around the SUV. They waited patiently until the loud whooshing sound of a helicopter could be heard. The bird landed about a half mile away, and within minutes the small convoy could be seen approaching.

Brady informed Beckett that the FBI was now involved in the case. It wasn't until a familiar auburn head popped out of the black car that Kate let out a strained breath. "Detective Beckett, what can you tell me?"

"Agent Jordan Shaw, this is Chief Brady, he is heading the investigation here. He has all the details."

"Agent Shaw, Detective, at approximately 9:30 am this morning the owner of that home over there noticed that the SUV they saw yesterday afternoon was still parked at the house. She knew that the house was empty and had seen the black vehicle on several other occasions, but thought it was the realtor showing the house. She called this morning because it had been there since yesterday. We called the realtor and the house hasn't been shown in over two weeks. My deputies have been observing the home since 10:00 this morning and there has been no movement."

Agent Avery walked out from behind the cars with the rest of their team. He held an infrared thermal imaging machine which had determined that there were no heat sources in the house, or in and around the vehicle.

Within minutes Shaw's and Brady's men had entered and cleared the home. Each room had been meticulously searched, The unfinished basement where Castle had been kept was being processed, as were all other rooms and surfaces. Blood had been found in both the basement and the black SUV, as well as hair and fibers. One of Castle's cuff links had been found in the crease of the back passenger side of the SUV was damaged, and the silver paint was sent out for analysis to see if it matched the paint from Castle's car.

Agent Shaw had pulled out her fancy FBI toys and rushed prints to the front of the line at the lab. This time Beckett made no objections to the calvary swooping in and taking over.

Within two hours blood and hair samples had placed Castle and Rogan O 'Leary in the black Escalade. Castle's blood was also identified in the basement, the amount of blood found at the scene wasn't life threatening. The paint on the SUV matched the paint from Castle's Mercedes. Finger prints found at the scene were being run through all possible databases.

It was evening and Kate had asked Jordan to stay at the house instead of booking a room at a hotel for the night. It was the first time in days that Kate felt like she could breathe. Castle was alive. There was something big going on here, and she just couldn't understand how Castle fit into it all. They had been eating in silence, both lost in thought when Jordan cleared her throat.

"How are you holding up, Kate?"

"I'm numb. It took so long for us to get here. He fought tooth and nail, now it's my turn. I'm not giving up. I know he's out there and he's alive. I know he wouldn't give up. I just keep going over everything we have and none of the puzzle pieces line up. Every new clue leads no where. I need him here, to weave me a story, to make it all make sense."

"There hasn't been any contact from anyone?"

"If this was about money we would have been called by now." None of this made sense and time was against them.

Shaw's phone had rung. Avery could be heard on the other end disseminating information. Shaw hung up and looked at Kate.

"We have hits on two sets of prints found in the car.. Both men are on the no fly list and are suspected terrorists who sympathize with our enemies. They are gathering as much information as possible and requesting help from the CIA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He hadn't had any contact in days. No voices, footsteps, nothing that resembled another human anywhere. He kicked, rammed and pounded on the door at the end of his first day alone. On the second day he had screamed himself hoarse. The third day alone he laid in the bed, staring wide eyed at the cracked ceiling, his mind raced with thoughts and theories, but he hardly moved.

He was at least ten stories up in this building and there was nothing of any use in his room that he could use to escape. His captors had left water beside his bed in a pitcher. He had been careful and rationed it from the start, and the day it had rained he collected more through the bars on the windows.

Fear slowly crept over him. Frustration was festered below the surface. The silence and solitude chipped away at his sanity. He was a social animal, being alone had always been detrimental. The normal nervous energy that was an integral part of him had no outlet, and it all continued to take it's toll.

He closed his eyes and thought of Kate. He was determined to do anything to get back to her and his family, he just had to wait for the opportunity because right now, there was nothing he could do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunt knew who he was searching for. He had worked among them to infiltrate them, but right now had lost their trail. He managed to find the home they had kept Richard in just as they were evacuating the premises. Four cars had left the house, and he had to choose one to follow without backup. One car remained parked and empty. When the SUV had finally stopped three young teens had emerged.

Jackson Hunt had questioned them only to learn that they had been approached by a man who offered them $150 each to drive the SUV to Silver Spoon diner 50 miles away, then find their way home. The man had medium height with brown hair and beard, he never took off his dark aviator glasses. He was tall and skinny and wore jeans, a green t-shirt and a Yankees cap. The boys heard and saw other people, but they weren't close enough to describe them. Jackson Hunt let them go, they were kids who made a quick $150 and had no clue what they had gotten themselves involved in.

Richard was out there, and he was paying the price for his recent actions. He knew they were using his son to draw him out, he just needed a little more time.

******Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I felt bad the last chapter took so long so this one is early! I hope you enjoy! Thank you once again to my great reviewers. I can't tell you how excited I get when I read them. So if you fave or follow please let me know why you like it. To the my great BTS people who help me with tenses, writing and spelling you rock! ****I can't wait for Season 7 so they can fix this mess! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Ficathon! I'm shooting for 50,000 words!**

**This chapter goes out to Teresa who's hubby could use some prayer! Hope he's doing better soon!**

Jordan Shaw was didn't like being strung along. She liked direct answers and cold hard facts, and action, and that's not what she's gotten this morning. Her contact at the CIA and received nothing but intello-babble double talk and the bureaucratic run around. Something just wasn't right. She was placed on hold again and her patience was running dangerously thin when she heard the irrefutable sound of the dial tone. The CIA had hung up on her. She looked at the phone in disbelief and then over to Avery.

"What the fuck?" Shaw mumbled under her breath as she placed the phone non too gently back on it's cradle. "I've been on the phone all morning trying to get information on the two suspects we got hits on from the CIA, and they just hung up on me!"

Avery looked up from his paperwork he and said, "I take it they didn't have much?"

"More like they've got plenty and aren't willing to play nice and share. I've been on that phone for well over an hour and haven't talked to a single human being for more than a minute before I was disconnected? Do we have anything on the suspects?"

"We know that they're twin brothers, born in Canada of Libyan parents who were visiting family in Alberta. They were delivered six weeks early, and have dual citizenship. Both did time in Canada for breaking and entering and armed robbery. They have traveled to Libya for extended stays and are suspected of terrorist activities. That's where our information ends." Avery flipped through the stack of papers and pulled out two 8x10 photos. He puts them up on Beckett's board, for her to arrange at a later time.

It's at that moment that Kate made an appearance at the top of the stairs. She's surprised to see Shaw and Avery at the table working.

"What time is it?" She asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"It's quarter to seven, we got an early start." Avery answered.

"I can see that. Would you two like some coffee while you bring me up to speed?" The two agents nod gratefully.

The next hour was spent bringing Kate up to date and rehashing old leads and info. They were staring at Kate's board, when Jordan's phone rang.

"Special Agent Jordan Shaw, can I help you?"

"Is Detective Beckett with you?" The voice was low and masculine.

"I'm sorry, but who is this?" Jordan continued as she looked up and caught Kate's eyes.

"Who I am isn't important, but I have information on who has Richard Castle."

"How do you know this info? How do I know we can trust you?"

"I called you after you failed to get answers from the CIA. If that's not enough. Tell Detective Beckett that I gave him "Casino Royale" when he was 10."

Jordan turns towards Kate. "He just told me to tell you, he gave him Casino Royale" when he was ten. Does that mean anything to you?"

Kate rushed over to Jordan and snatched the phone from her hands.

"Hunt, where's Castle? Do you have him?" Her hands trembled as she spoke.

"Unfortunately, I don't, Detective, but I have information about who does. We need to meet."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the States working the same case you are. Are you still at the Hampton's?"

"Yes, I am."

"I will contact you later today on where to meet. If you trust the F.B.I. Agent bring her with you. We are getting him back, Kate."

Then the line went silent. For a minute Kate just stared at the phone. Her mind replayed the conversation. She was startled out of her thoughts when Avery cleared his throat, and she looked up at two sets of inquiring eyes.

"Care to share what that was, Detective?" Jordan asked.

Kate motioned them to the table and brought over the coffee pot.

"It started just over two years ago. When Alexis was kidnapped and taken to France. Castle disappeared on me and went to find her. There was an elaborate cover story by the US and French governments to explain what exactly happened, but I didn't know that, as Castle was sworn to secrecy and didn't tell me until we encountered Hunt in one of our cases. It wasn't until after we solved that case where a store clerk was murdered, that the real story came out. In that case the young man had been helping the CIA. He tried to expose a mole dubbed Gemini who hacked the CIA's list of deep cover operatives and was poised to sell it to the Iranians. The exchange was to take place at the NY public library, but Hunt had been injured and in no condition to go, I went as backup. Rick and I hijacked the library Wi-Fi signal and tried to grab the file before Gemini could. But when I went to track the Wi-Fi source, Rick was approached by Gemini and led to the basement. Luckily the injured Hunt, gave Martha the slip, and stabbed and shot Gemini, just before he would have killed Castle. Castle found me and took me to the scene. By the time we got there the body had disappeared, but the gun remained. The gun that was left behind was the piece of evidence that closed the case. After that Castle confessed about what had happened in France, and that he had been contacted by Jackson Hunt. Hunt helped him rescue Alexis from the kidnappers. She was used as a pawn to flush out Hunt."

"What's the connection between Hunt and Castle? How do they know each other? I don't understand why Alexis would be used to flush Hunt out?"

"Castle doesn't really know him. They have only met a handful of times, and the first time was in France with the abduction."

"Kate, what are you not telling us?" Jordan was getting frustrated. There was a piece of the puzzle that hadn't been revealed.

"Hunt is Castle's father." Kate said it so quietly that Jordan thought she may have misunderstood.

"His what?"

"His father, Jordan. Castle has been famously fatherless until two years ago. You'd think his father being a spy would have thrilled him, but it didn't. Castle was the product of a night of passion between Martha and Hunt. He was gone the next morning, and didn't know till years later that he had a son. He stayed away from them for their own safety, according to him, but he did keep tabs on them and secretly helped them when he could. He would have stayed anonymous but the kidnapping of Alexis drew him out."

Avery interjected, "If that happened with Alexis, then he might also have something to do with Castle's disappearance. What's his full name again?"

"I'm not sure if it's his real name, or just the one he gave us, but he calls himself Jackson Hunt."

Jordan turned to Kate, "How much of that story does anyone at the NYPD know?"

"None of it. They only know we found blood and the gun at the scene after we had been tipped off that something was going down at the library. For Castle's family safety and for Hunt's safety it's best that his involvement in either case be strictly confidential. Hunt is a secret operative for the CIA, so they know him, but would almost certainly never admit it. I'm not a fan of the man, since every time he shows up someone I love is in danger."

"I don't see Jackson Hunt in any of our databases. Just means he's an extremely high level operative, or that's just another one of his aliases." Avery calls out from his computer.

"Avery, scan for any the last six to eight months for any international incidents foiled on American soil? See if we get any hits? Call the office and arrange protection for Castle's daughter and mother." Jordan called out to him over her shoulder, as she reached for the coffee pot and poured herself another cup. "I have a feeling we're going to need this coffee."

Kate excused herself, called Martha and Alexis and brought them up to date. She told them about the protection they would have but omitted the contact with Hunt, for now. The news would only upset them, and they'd had enough turmoil. After that she called the boys and caught up with them. When she spoke to Captain Gates she was surprised to hear that she had been the one to request the FBI's assistance. She thanked her for her help and then returned to the living room where Avery and Shaw were working.

The Jordan's phone rang at 4:45 pm while Kate was getting ready to start a simple dinner.

"Agent Shaw." She answered.

"Hello, Agent Shaw. I'm not far from the house. I'll be arriving within 15 minutes by foot, from the beach side of the house. I would prefer if none of you shot at me, when I get there." Hunt answered. "Detective Beckett knows what I look like."

"We'll be waiting."

Shaw relayed the conversation to Avery and Kate. Just a few minutes later they saw an older gentleman walk up to the house from the beach and knock gently on the back door.

"Come in. Jackson Hunt, these are Special Agents Shaw and Avery. Please sit down." Kate motioned towards the kitchen table.

"Has the house been swept for bugs?" He asked.

"My team at the NYPD swept it after Castle's disappearance, to make sure no one had been listening. They were very thorough; no cameras or listening devices were detected." Kate replied as she sat down. "Please tell us what you know."

"Sixteen months ago I was sent to infiltrate a suspected terrorist cell in Canada. The group was lead by two brothers with dual Canadian/Libyan citizenship. They had assembled a small group who believed that the Western powers were evil and must be destroyed. They purchased an old cargo plane and stored in at abandoned airfield in Canada. Their plan was to load the plane with ammonium nitrate fertilizer collected over a period of time, mix it with Diesel fuel and fly the plane to the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day and explode it just before it hit the track in front of the main grandstand with 200,000 people in it. Had they been successful they would have killed tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of people and injured thousands more. Something went terribly wrong a month before the race, because the plane exploded at their airfield killing many of their own people. They suspected sabotage and had eventually figured out who was responsible. Me."

Kate pushed herself away from the table, stood up and ran her fingers roughly through her hair as she started to pace. "So, you're telling us this is because of you? For over forty two years you were nothing but a figment of his imagination. Neither Castle or Martha had any clue who you were. Then two years ago this family is nearly destroyed when Alexis was kidnapped because of you, and now you're telling me that Castle is gone because of you again?"

"Detective Beckett-"

"Don't you dare Detective Beckett me!" she growled defensively between clenched teeth. "Twice my families lives have been at stake because of you. Do you have any idea what it is to have loved ones taken from you? This was our wedding Hunt. Your sons wedding!" She slamed her hand against the table, and bent at the waist and glared into his eyes.

"You're a total stranger to them! Yet their lives have been at risk because of you! They're my family, they're all I have besides my dad, they're everything!" Kate knew she'd lost her composure, and professionalism. She looked at the people around the table, but focuses on Shaw. "Excuse me, I need to step out and get some fresh air."

The room was eerily quiet for a minute, then Agent Shaw said, "That woman has gone through enough loss in her life. Your son worked years at getting her to where she is. I saw the bond and love between them before they did. If something happens to your son or his family it will break her, and God help you there won't be a safe place on earth for you to hide."

Kate paced back and forth like a caged tiger. She had never felt such anger, her blood boiled as she watched Hunt speak about his involvement like it was nothing. For God sake this was his son's life he had once again placed in danger. She knew she needed to cool down enough to regain her objectivity and take advantage of his presence, so she stood and watched the waves crush and recede against the shore, until she was under control.

She turned and entered the house once again. She looked directly at Hunt. "You will do everything in your power to get Castle back safe and sound, but when this is over, I don't care what you do, but you will make sure that this will never ever happen again. Fake your death, get plastic surgery and disappear or drop dead, I don't care how you do it but be certain this never happens again. If there is a next time and it involves you and anyone I love, you won't come out unscathed."

Hunt seemingly unfazed shook his head and said, "Understood, now let's put our heads together and see what we can come up with."

******Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Please leave a review I'd be eternally grateful ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I hope everyone is doing well! Thank you all so much for the great response to the last chapter. To everyone who reviewed, thank you for taking the time out to do so. You guys really make writing this story rewarding. To know you are enjoying it really helps encourage me to continue! I hope everyone is enjoying it. We now know Sept 29 is the Castle season premier! I'm excited for it. Yes, I hated the finale. I hated that they destroyed the wedding and ruined Kate's "one and done." I thought the crash was overused, BUT I'm here until the wheels fall off. I haven't given up on the show, and I'm anxiously awaiting any spoiler news. Stana is still incredible, and Nathan is still sexy! I'm not sure what's coming, but I'm willing to wait, because it's still my favorite show! I hope you are all still going to join me in watching Sept. 29. This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

Kate Beckett, Jordan Shaw and Jackson Hunt worked into the night, they dissected every detail. He promised to contact Kate if he came across any new leads or information, and to check in periodically for any new info on their part. Then Hunt disappeared into the moonlit night as quickly as he appeared.

It had been hours and she was still staring at the ceiling in their bedroom, trying to calm her nerves and anger. Rick and she had made a conscious decision to continue their partnership, knowing the inherent dangers involved. They had gone into it with eyes wide open, and had made a choice. They had each other's back, and were always there to pick up the pieces for each other. It was their choice, their life.

Hunt was another story. He had placed her family in danger three times in the last two years. They didn't know him, there was no connection, no trust. He was related by blood only, and that didn't make you family, not in her book. She didn't like the man. He was cold, indifferent, calculated, so different from his son, that she couldn't in her heart make the comparison.

Her anger boiled over as she thought of the information he had brought them. The CIA had been involved, every step of the way, in the fiasco that their wedding became. They manipulated events when they suspected that Castle and his family were in danger. The venue hadn't burned down, they needed to get them out of the city, so they could keep them safe. The assumption had been that they'd move it to the Hampton's, and they didn't disappoint. Castle's tour had been cut short, to protect him. It was hard to protect someone when they were meeting fans and giving autographs in huge crowds. The CIA had manipulated their lives and those they loved, and in the long run screwed it up anyway. She had lost her temper after Hunt's revelation. She had pushed her chair away from the table and paced angrily back and forth.

"Who the fuck, does this? I'm an N.Y.P.D. Detective! I have an entire department behind me. If we had known there was a threat, I could have protected him. But this isn't about him, it's about you!" Hunt stood to talk, but Kate had turned and walked over to him. She stood an inch from his face. "You could have warned him, and spared our wedding. All you cared about is yourself. You show up only to clean up after your messes! What you were doing to us, how it was affecting us, that never crossed your mind, did it? Because in your life the only person who comes first is you!"

"It's my job." He had answered her calmly. "My job keeps people like you safe. If it wasn't for me, and people like me the world would be a more dangerous place."

"Unless you're Castle, or maybe Alexis. Guess they're even farther down your list then the rest of the world, because neither did anything to deserve this, and both of them were abducted and mistreated because they were related to you!" She turned away and mumbled "pompous asshole," under her breathe.

"That's enough; both of you. This isn't helping. We need to find Castle and to do that we need every resource available." Shaw had interjected. "We also need to see how Rogan and Tildy fit in. Hunt, we need you to find out if the CIA contacted them, or if they are working for the other side."

How, Kate wondered, could Hunt manipulate people's lives without regret? How could he be so calm when his son's life was in danger? The man is supposed to be a patriot, has supposedly sacrificed much for his country, but she just doesn't see the greater good here. They are drowning in the shallow end of the pool, they have no idea where Castle is. Their God-damn plan has backfired and left Castle in grave danger. At least he's here and admitted his, their involvement. That's something, but it damn sure isn't enough.

Her emotions were running high as she laid in her bed, as she recounted the events of the day. It was late at night that she let herself feel the pain and loss of him. Each night in their bed, she prayed. She prayed like she did when she was nineteen. She prayed for his safety and for the end of the nightmare. Each night she fell asleep to the diminishing smell of him on his pillow, and the tears would come until she'd finally fall asleep from exhaustion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexis had decided to stay at the loft with her grandmother while her father was missing. She wanted to be close if they received any information. This morning she was up early and had rushed around as she tried to get to her first class; International Human Rights Law with Professor Cooper, who was an obnoxious hard ass, on time. She had swung her bag over her shoulder and had opened the door to the loft to leave when she spotted the large manila envelope. She picked it up and was going to just leave it for her Gram, she was running late. Curiosity got the better of her. There wasn't a name on the envelope, so she opened it and pulled what seemed to be one of many papers out of it.

She dropped the envelope to the floor, some of it's contents spilling onto the floor. She just stared at the picture, in horror. There in the middle of the room was her father, tied to a chair and shirtless. He was a bloodied mess. His face swollen and disfigured, but it was him. Her hands started to tremble and her mind cleared as she yelled for her Grams and she reached for her cell to call Kate.

Kate had been sleeping when her cell had begun to ring. She reached over and was perplexed that Alexis would call her this early. As soon as Kate answered Alexis was talking. "I was getting ready to leave. There was a Manila envelope on the floor in front of the front door. I didn't think, Kate. I opened it. There are picture, pictures of Dad." She started to cry. "They've beaten him, Kate. He's tied to a chair and he full of cuts and bruises, his face is a mess, there blood on the floor and on his pants. Oh my God Kate what have they done to him?"

By now Martha had arrived at the top of the stairs and listened in horror. She came down the stairs and stood behind Alexis. Martha glimpsed quickly at the picture and turned away, but held her granddaughter close, as she lost control.

"Alexis, listen to me. I'm going to call the 12th and get Espo and Ryan down there. Keep the picture you touched aside, so they know your prints are on them. Don't touch anything else. Alexis?" Kate waited for the girl to respond.

"Yeah, Grams is here with me now. We won't touch anything again, and we'll wait for Ryan and Esposito to get here. He looks so bad, Kate. We have to find him."

"I'm going to come home. I'll be there as soon as I can. We're going to find him Alexis, and we're all going to be ok." She hung up with Alexis and rushed around the room. Kate needed to see the picture. To see for herself proof that he was still alive, even though she knew seeing the pictures would devastate her.

Kate threw on clothes and ran to the kitchen where Shaw was quietly sitting and drinking her first cup of the day. She looked up to a disheveled Kate Beckett and she instantly knew there was some kind of news.

"Pictures of Castle were delivered to the loft. Alexis found them this morning as she was leaving for school. She's a mess because he was obviously tied and beaten in the pictures. I'm headed to the city. You guys want to meet me there?" Kate clipped on her badge and adjusted her gun as she spoke.

"You go, we'll be a few minutes behind you. I don't want to keep you. We'll meet you at the loft." Shaw said as she drank the last of her coffee and headed out to find Avery and make the necessary calls.

Kate started driving, she called the 12th and started things rolling there. Before she got off the phone she had talked to the boys and Gates. They would meet her at the loft when she arrived there, and would supervise the collection of evidence. Kate reminded them that the building had security cameras and to request the video.

She had a two hour drive ahead of her, and all she could think of was Castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His captors had all returned, and they came back angrier then before they left. They had barged into the room and had used him as their personal punching bag. He had gotten in a few punches and had tried to protect himself but it was of no use. He was grossly outnumbered.

They had laughed when one particular punch had knocked out an already lose tooth and blood spurted from his mouth. They taunted him, told him he wasn't so pretty to look at anymore.

Then they asked him where "Craven" was? He had no clue who they were talking about and told them so. They didn't believe him. Each time he said he didn't know a new round of punches and kicks ensued. It wasn't until one of them pulled out a picture of Craven that he knew who they were talking about.

There in front of him was a picture of Hunt. The bile rose to his mouth and anger boiled through his veins. This was because of him again?

"I despise that man." He said through clenched teeth. "I know you know who he is, but I've only met him twice. I have no idea where he is."

"We want him, so it's going to be you or him. We left your family a present. We hope that it's enough for them to know we aren't playing games here." One of the men spoke.

"Don't you touch my family!" He growled and tried to get up. He was to badly beaten to stand and dropped back to the floor in a heap.

"If we have to, we will do whatever we need to do to get Craven. If we have to involve your sexy fiancé or sweet daughter to get what we need, then so be it." He leans by Castle's ear and hisses "Either of them would be a tasty morsel."

Castle charged towards the man but fell before reaching him. "I'll kill you if you touch them." Castle growled.

All the men laugh and the leader speaks again, "You can hardly stand on your own two feet, let alone kill me. Maybe we'll let you watch as we all take turns."

They turned and left the room as they discussed Kate and Alexis. Bile rose quickly up his throat and he threw up in a corner of the room. The blind anger consumed him. He couldn't believe this was happening again. He had been right all along. Hunt wasn't family, Alexis, Martha, Kate and those closest to him at the 12th were family, and he knew they had not given up on him.

He crawled to the bed on the other side of the room and collapsed into it. Everything hurt. He closed his eyes and thought of his family. He thought of last Christmas, and Valentine's Day, and eventually exhaustion took over and he fell into a restless sleep.

******Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to all of you, reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story! I hope I replied to all of you! On Monday I'll be away until August 7. I'll be able to write, but I won't be able to post. I'll try and post a short chapter before Monday night. I can't believe the reception this story has gotten. It's my first case fic story, and I have been so unsure about writing it. Thank you, to the small crew who helps make this story what it is. Hope you have a good almost couple of weeks! You guys are the best!**

Castle had searched every inch of the room, more than once, for anything he could use to escape or protect himself. The itchy blanket just barely covered his body when in a fetal position; the cloth was too rotten to trust it as a rope even if that would have been useful. There was no sheet on the filthy mattress. The metal bed was rusted together. The window bars were all solid; none of them even remotely loose. He had checked each one carefully, more than once. He entertained breaking one of the windows and using the glass, but it would only work if he was one on one, and his captors always came in a group. There was no other furniture, no pipes, nothing.

He paced a lot. The dimensions of the room were etched in his mind, he had paced them out so often. He had lost track of how many days he had been in this god forsaken hell, but if he had to estimate it had to be approaching a month. The days had gotten longer, and evenings warmer.

With only his thoughts to pass the time, his anger at Hunt consumed him. His thoughts became darker. Hunt had became his obsession. The man wasn't a father, but a sperm donor. Once this was over, he would have the satisfaction of telling him exactly what he thought of him. The only brightness he let in was his family, thoughts of Martha, Alexis and Kate, chased away the darkness that threatened to overcome him, and for them, he held on. He was certain Kate and the boys were looking for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate had been driving for an hour and was currently on I-495 W heading towards Manhattan. She was about half way there and her mind had been racing with thoughts of the pictures waiting for her at the loft. She prepared herself for the worst. She knew Martha and Alexis would be there and they needed her to be strong. A chill coursed through her body, and for the millionth time since his disappearance Kate felt the overwhelming feeling that he knew she was out there looking for him, and he hadn't given up.

"Hold on Castle. Please babe, hold on." She whispered into the empty car as she continued to drive. Thankfully, the traffic was light and she'd be there quick, if it held off.

She drove by exit 53 without incident. Just another exit on the highway on the way home. Yet, unknown to her, 8 miles north off the exit, Castle laid in his bed and thought of her, and everything he held dear.

There were two cruisers parked outside of his building when she arrived. She went to the underground parking garage and parked the car. As she walked to the elevator, thoughts of the many times she had ridden it to visit the loft flooded her. From her first visit, where she compared herself to Alfred seeing the Bat-Cave for the first time to her rain soaked visit where they had finally made love. This want the end of their love story. She refused to accept that; there was so much more story to tell.

The elevator doors opened to controlled chaos. LT and Officer Hastings stood guard at the front door. CSU was still there wrapping up with what looked like a few FBI agents. Lanie, Espo, Ryan and Gates were talking to Martha and Alexis at the kitchen island. They were visibly shaken. The apartment and hall had obviously been scrutinized for any evidence. She stood quietly in the middle of the loft taking it all in, when the group at the counter noticed her.

Alexis was the first to jump up and run into her arms. " I'm so glad you're here, Kate."

Kate hugged the girl tightly and kissed the top of her head, as she looked over at the group at the counter. Their faces told her that they hadn't found anything of substance. She walked over to them.

"So did we get anything?" Her voice was anything but confidant. It was Espo who spoke up.

"Everything they've gotten has been sent out for processing. We took pictures of what was sent for you. The cameras in the hall were sprayed with black paint, so we have nothing on tape. They knew where the cameras were located and there were no direct or indirect views of their faces. We know three of them came in through the underground garage. Everything from the elevator buttons to the pictures are being analyzed for finger prints, maybe we can get a better idea of how many there are if there are new prints."

Espo handed her his phone with the pictures of the evidence collected and the photos of Castle. She leaned toward the island and clutched the side for support when she saw the first picture of Castle. It wasn't the worst picture she had ever seen, but it was of the man she loved most in the world. The impact took her by surprise as she eased herself into one of the stools, and forced herself to scroll through the rest. Her eyes filled quickly with tears, and for a moment she let herself feel every emotion. Then just as quickly as it had overcome her, she a turned those feelings into steadfast determination. She wiped a stray tear, straightened her back and looked up at Gates just as Shaw and Avery walked in the front door.

"Sir, am I allowed to work from the precinct?"

"You're officially on leave, but our services are at your disposal, and your desk is as you left it, Detective." Gates answered.

Everyone turned towards Shaw as she read something off her phone to them. "CSU found small particles of paint in the rug in the hall, and in the elevator. It is an industrial paint used years ago in schools and hospitals. The paint contained high levels of lead, which leads us to believe that our perpetrators are using an old building, maybe someplace abandoned, or partially renovated with construction halted since the paint particles were stuck to their shoes or clothes."

Ryan spoke up,"There are hundreds of places in the city alone that could fit that description, and who knows how many more between here and the Hampton's or in the state of New York."

"Then we'll start looking through every one of them." Kate responded.

"We need more than paint chips, Beckett." Espo answered. "It would take us years to go through them all."

Shaw spoke up, "We can start looking within five to ten miles radius of the Hampton home and the loft. Then extend the search from there. It's slow but it's the best location lead we've gotten. We'll make a list of what we find, and compare it to a list the NYPD makes. Then go from there."

At that moment Hunt strolled through the front door, he flashed something at LT and Hastings as he walked in. LT followed him into the room.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Martha bursts out as she looked at Kate.

"Kate?" Alexis asked her words caught in her throat. "No, not again."

"Does this have to do with him again?" Martha voice got louder. " Haven't you done enough?"

Hunt's face has not so much as flinched at the reactions around. His face showed no expression whatsoever. The same could not be said for the people around him.

It's Espo, Lanie, Ryan and Gates that sit confused. It takes just a moment for Ryan and Espo to recognize the man from two of their previous murder cases, and the man of interest in Alexis' kidnapping, though he was never interrogated. Their reaction was to stand with their hands on their guns.

"Please stand down." Kate asked as she looked at Espo and Ryan. She didn't think she could hate Hunt more than she already did. She knew her precinct family would feel betrayed and that there could even be legal consequences.

"Captain Gates, Espo, Ryan and Lanie, I'd like you to meet CIA Covert Operative Jackson Hunt, Castle's father and the man responsible for Castle's kidnapping. He knows who they are, and why they have Castle."

You could have heard a pin drop as everyone in the room processed the information, and took a good look at Hunt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two brothers sat on the floor and leaned against a bare wall just a few rooms from where Castle was being held. Safely back from their long drive to Manhattan, they wanted to relax and have a smoke, before having some fun with their prisoner.

"I don't know how people can live in that filthy crowded city. The urine smell everywhere is enough to make one sick. The car exhaust is disgusting."

"Some people thrive on that, they love the hectic rat race. It's why we do what we do, get rid of the stinkin' filth in this country. Once we get rid of Craven, we can get back to our original plan."

"Speaking of the plan, isn't this one taking too long? We haven't heard anything from him since we took his son."

"Patience, Craven will make his move. This place is secure. We have people near the front entrance, in the woods and all around this building. When he comes, we will know."

"What about his family?" He nodded toward where Castle was being held. "His Fiancé is a cop. She will look for him. If we wait long enough they will figure it out. Time isn't on our side."

"I'm counting on her to get Craven's attention. If we have to take her or his mother or daughter, or all three of them to flush him out, we will. Eventually he will come. If the pictures don't get things moving, we'll have to send something more personal next time."

The younger brother smiled. The smile was disturbing even to his brother. Removing body parts from their infidel captive would be just fine with him. He doesn't expect to live long anyway. Had they been able to follow through with their original plan, he would have already achieved martyrdom when he flew the explosive ladened plane into the crowded grandstand. He would have caused all that devastation to the infidel, and it would have been remembered forever. That thought gave him great pleasure.

******Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! **


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